


Billy in Westworld

by damnitlaura



Series: Billy in Westworld [1]
Category: The Punisher (TV 2017), Westworld (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Attempted Sexual Assault, Canon-Typical Violence, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-24
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2020-10-27 07:54:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20756942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/damnitlaura/pseuds/damnitlaura
Summary: There’s an indistinct rumbling that sounds throughout the city, one minute you're in the lobby of the building you work in as a personal assistant, the next you wake up wondering how the fuck you and Billy ended up in the old west.





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> There is an attempted sexual assault scene in this chapter, I've marked the begining and ending of the scene with 0o0o0o0 so if you wanna skip it.
> 
> I do not consent to my fics being published anywhere else.

You watched as the numbers on the elevator display crept down slowly, it was way past the end of your work day, your boss Mr. Fitzgerald, was training his son Parker, to take over his position while he was overseas on vacation and for when he inevitably retired, and had needed you to stay in the event that they would need something. Which they did, multiple times throughout the extra hour and a half that you stayed, and you would have liked to just head home, kickoff your heels and just faceplant onto the nearest comfortable surface, maybe squeeze in a quick power nap before going to meet your group of friends for your weekly get together at Josies, but the extra time at work had eaten away at the time and now you were 30 minutes late to meet everyone. The elevator dinged and the doors slid open to reveal the lobby and you smiled as you caught sight of Billy, and just like that some of the exhaustion of your too long day drained away. 

Stepping out of the elevator and took a moment to drink him in. His suit jacket was unbuttoned, the black silk tie you had helped tie around his neck that morning was nowhere is sight, it was most likely laying on the backseat of his car, and the few top buttons of his crisp white shirt were undone, all the sure signs of a rough day no doubt spent in meeting after meeting, negotiating one thing or another with potential clients. 

He hadn't noticed you yet, his attention solely on the screen of his phone. A slight frown that morphed into annoyance with each passing second as he furiously typed away on the screen. It was when you noticed the tensing of his shoulders that you started walking towards him; the sound of your heels clicking against the marble floor making him look up from his phone, the frown disappearing almost instantly being replaced with a dazzling smile that, despite the amount of times you had seen it, never failed to take your breath away and made your heart try to beat itself out of your chest.

"Hey, ready to go?" He asked typing and sending one final message and pressing the power button a little harder than was strictly necessary, the screen going black before he slipped it into the pocket of his dark slacks. 

"God yes" you said, the exhaustion and annoyance of the day bleeding into your voice. 

"Long day?" His brows furrowed, no doubt wondering if you were up to being around your friends. 

"Longest I've had in awhile but nothing I can't handle" you assured him. 

"Y'know, the offer for you to come work for me still stands, I'd take good care of you." He said,his new york accent becoming more pronounced with his teasing tone and the full smile that spread across his lips.

"Are you seriously trying to poach me right now?" You asked around a laugh, coming to a stop in front of him, crossing your arms over your chest and arching a brow at him. 

Billy shrugged, his hands caming to rest on your hips, pulling them flush against his own, your hands coming to rest on his chest.

"Better hours, better pay, better...benefits" he murmure, his eyes going impossibly darker and hungry as he took you in and you knew he wasn’t talking about Anvils dental plan. 

No, the hungry way he was looking at you he was most likely thinking of all the office sex he would be having with you as his personal assistant. And though you very much liked the idea of riding to work together, being able to have lunch with him more often than not due to him being just a door away, you liked working for Mr. Fitzgerald. He was a great boss, kind and thoughtful, maybe when he retired and his son took over you would take Billy up on his offer. 

The witty remark that was on the tip of your tongue was swallowed up first by his mouth, his lips pressing against then moving expertly against your own, his tongue swiping against the seam to deepen the kiss, your hands trailing up his chest and into his hair, holding him securely to you. Then by a distant rumbling that grew as the seconds ticked by, making you pull apart. 

"Earthquake?" You asked a little breathless, ready to pull Billy underneath the nearest doorway and away from the floor to ceiling glass walls that make up the front of the building.

"No," He said calmly, eyes narrowing and his head tilting to the side as he looked out of the glass. "sounds like it's coming from underneath the city." He shifted slightly, putting himself in front of you as the rumbling grew louder and louder. He took a couple of steps forward, hand reaching inside his suit jacket and pulling out his gun, expertly gripping it between his hands and aiming it in the same motion with the ease that comes from 8 years of military training.

"Bill, maybe we should get outta here." You said nervously, reaching out to touch his shoulder as you took a step towards him. 

The rumbling stopped and an eerie quiet took its place, making your skin crawl. Then, in the distance there was a low hum and you were hit with a wave of vertigo making you pause and sway for a moment, 

“Billy?” you managed to murmur before your vision went hazy and you felt yourself stumble and begin to fall. The last thing you registered was Billy calling your name, his voice laced with worry before you were swallowed up by unconsciousness. 

****************************

You came to with a start, eyes flying open and shooting up immediately regretting the action as a wave of pain and dizziness threatened to make you empty the contents of your stomach. You closed your eyes and after a few deep concentrated breaths, your nausea settled and the pain faded to a dull, barely there ache. It's then that you're able to take in your surroundings and you felt your stomach drop at the unfamiliarity of it. 

You remember it being early evening, the July sunlight pouring in through the floor to ceiling windows that made up the front of you building where you worked, bathing Billy--Billy! Where's Billy? You thought in a panic as you looked around yourself, squinting your eyes in the dark but all you could make out were barren plains stretching out as far as the eye could see, making the panic in your chest grow and your heart beat erratically. 

calm down, said a voice that sounded eerily like Billy, said in the back of your mind. Panicking isn't going to help, it continued, bringing with it a memory from a few years ago.

“8 years of military service, 134 confirmed kills, 2 tours in Iraq, 1 in Afghanistan, CEO of your own private security company and you can’t remember from between what trees you came in through when you found me?” you cried incredulously.

“In my defense, when I got those kills and was doing my tours I wasn’t getting my brain sucked out through my dick.” the that only happened when I was on leave and stateside. hung in the air unsaid but you knew of Billy’s past, the way he had moved through countless women before he met you. 

You huffed and started to look around, was it getting darker? It definitely looked darker than when you arrived. Were there bears in New York? Oh god, were you gonna get mauled by Winnie the pooh?!?

Your breathing started coming in shorter bursts, the rising panic making you start to hyperventilate.

"Stop panicking." He said, his voice controlled and calm as if he wasn't lost in the middle of the woods with no idea how to get back to your campsite. Probably due to all his training, you were sure that being a lieutenant in the marines special forces he had had to have nerves of steel.

But you didn't and you couldn't pretend you did. 

"Billy, we're lost, how am I supposed to not panic!"

"Panicking about it isn't gonna help, you're just gonna work yourself up--"

"Of course I'm gonna get worked up, we're lost and we don't have our phones Billy! what if a bea--"

"STOP." He said over you, voice hard and commanding, sounding every bit the (decorated lieutenant) he still was under all the expensive tailored three piece suits, silk ties, and immaculate personal grooming. 

"What?" You stopped mid step, a little shocked, Billy had never raised his voice at you, not like this, not even during the heated argument you've had over the years. 

"S-T-O-P," he spelled out, voice back to its usual soothing (tenor), "Stands for stay calm, think, observe, and plan. First thing you gotta do is calm down." He said, stepping in front of you and placing his hands on your shoulders, it had the desired effect, the weight of them grounding you instantly, he noticed and gave you a crooked smile. "Now, think." 

And just like he had told you on his version of crash course camping 101, you took a deep breath and calmed yourself. About 95% of what he had taught you on that trip couldn't be applied to your current situation, but you knew that you had to remain calm. Panic was your worst enemy at the moment, the last thing you needed to do was hurry off in a random direction and get even more lost. 

You got up and dusted yourself off and looked at your surroundings again, this time with a more critical gaze. Straining your eyes you stared off into the dark night, looking to see if you could make out an elevated area, but all you could make out was flat planes, but there was what looked to be a tree in the distance. Trees need water to grow, so there had to be a water source nearby, if not it could at least provide you with some form of shelter for a few hours. Maybe, if it looked sturdy enough, you could climb it and survey the area again in the morning.

With that plan in mind, you steeled yourself, took off and gathered your heels even though you felt like it was a bad idea, but you weren't about to walk miles upon miles in your favorite shoes, even if they were the more sensible heels you owned, and began to walk. 

You hadn't been walking long when you were able to make out some moving shapes in the distance. A while later they were close enough for you to make out (three) riders on horses. You felt relief flood your system and breathed out a sigh, and   
quicken your pace, maybe you could hitch a ride to wherever they were headed, if not maybe they could at least point you in the direction of the nearest town. 

Once they were close enough for you to make out their features, your hopes of them being helpful dwindled, they looked like the stereotypical gang of the old westerns Frank was so fond of and made you watch whenever it was his turn to pick a movie for movie night. 

"Look at what we have here boys," the one at the front said, "haven't seen something like you around these parts before darlin'." You felt and saw his eyes rake over you, one of the men behind him stuttering out that they should continue on their way but he just waved him off, telling him that if he didn’t have the stomach for it to just turn around and wait until they were done, before he jumped off his horse and stalked towards you. 

He was tall and broad and even in the dark you could make out the sleek muscles, dirt clung to his face and dark clothes, making it look like he had gone a few days without a shower, a thick mustache sat above his lip connected to equality thick sideburns, on top of his head sat a black hat that looked like a top hat. Each step he took set off alarms in the back of your mind, making the voice in the back of your head scream at you to get away.

"Bet I can get 20 coins outta you than the usual 15," he said as his eyes gave you another once over, making a cold shiver run down your spine and the hairs at the nape of your neck stand on end, "but you know what darlin', I might just keep you for myself." The smile he then showed was predatory and lecherous. 

You took a step back but his hands shot out quick, like snakes and took hold of your wrists and pulled you to him, his head burrowing in the crook of your neck, inhaling deeply as he trailed the line of your neck up, behind your ear and into your hair.

0o0o0o0

"You gon' share 'er, right Rebus? Ain't no fair if you's da only one da 'ave sum fun." You looked past the man, Rebus, who was holding onto you, one of the other riders was leaning against the horn of his saddle, eyes just as lecherous. He was smaller, thinner than Rebus and looked to be younger. His face was shaven and as dirty as Rebus', his hair was kept longer at the top and short on the sides.

You started to struggle and pull away in earnest, you needed to get away from these men. 

"Oooh, she's a feisty one, Walter, you know how I like them with a little fight in them," he called out to his friend, then leaned closer to you and murmured, "gonna like taking the fight outta you."

Your mind reeled, going a mile a minute as you struggled against his hold and tried desperately to remember the countless self defense lessons Billy had given you.

Come on think! You screamed at yourself internally as you continued to try and break free, desperate and unable to recall how to break a wrist hold, you remembered the one thing that Billy had drilled into your head.

"Kick 'em on the balls. Hard. Don't hold back. It's not a death strike but it'll give you some time to put some distance between you and your attacker."

You braced yourself and swung your leg forward, putting everything you had behind it. 

One minute he was standing up straight, hard grip on your wrists, the next he was groaning, doubled over in pain, hands cupping his groin and you wasted no time in making a mad dash in the opposite direction. 

You didn't get far, maybe a foot or two away when the sound of hooves was behind you, making you push yourself to go faster, but too soon a house rounded you, and Walter jumped off his horse, landing a few steps away from you, hands held out in front of him, ready to shoot out and take hold of you once he was close enough. 

"Where you going darlin'?" He drawled as he took a step towards you.

You wish you had kept a hold of your shoes or had the mind to pick one up before you made a run for it, you were pretty sure the heels could have made for a makeshift weapon

"You bitch!" You heard from behind you, turning you see Rebus storming towards you, eyes and face red with fury, grabbing you again by the shoulders when he's close enough and hitting you with the back of his hand so hard across the face you fall to the ground. You cried out in pain as you hit the floor and he quickly following you down, pinning your wrists to the ground above your head and hovering over you, "I was gonna be gentle, but now, now--"

0o0o0o0

Before Rebus could finish his threat he was yanked off of you, the loud smack of something colliding made you close your eyes, it was followed by grunting and curses and at the sound of a new voice you opened your eyes. A few feet away from you, wrestling and punching your attacker was Billy, eyes wild, hair and clothes disheveled, he was straddling Rebus and each blow he delivered to your attacker was sure and precise. 

The relief that flooded your body at seeing Billy was damn near euphoric but the happiness of realizing that you weren't out here on your own was short lived when you felt a hand grab the back of your head and yank you up by your hair, making you cry out in pain, the sound fading and at the feel of cool steel against your temple. You heard the cocking of the gun at the same time that Billy flicked his right wrist, the hidden knife springing out and being plunged into Rebus' throat, holding it for a second then dragging it across his neck. The wind picked up then, carrying Rebus' pained gurgling away as his body lost strength, the hands that were struggling to fight him off falling limp to the floor. 

Billy’s chest was heaving with how hard he was breathing, but he wasted no time, pulling out the bloody blade and taking the gun that rested snugly in the holster at Rebus’ hip. Standing and turning in the direction where you were being held by Walter, aiming the gun in the same motion. 

"Let her go," Billy’s voice was hard and controlled as he pulled the hammer of the gun back, cocking it, "I'm not gonna say it again kid. Let. Her. Go."


	2. Chapter 2

“Let. Her. Go.” There was a quiet and menacing timber to Billy's voice, eyes were full of murderous rage and trained on the man behind you, making it abundantly clear that he would not feel the slightest bit of remorse in pumping him full of lead.

"Yous dun know whose you's messin' wit  _ stranger _ ." Walter called over your shoulder, his hand tightening around your neck then you felt him duck back behind you. "Jus' turn 'round and be on yer way pretty boy."

Billy's eyes narrowed, his shoulder giving a slight twitch as his finger itched to move from the guard and squeeze the trigger. Instead he took a few measured breaths, exhaling them slowly as he struggled to keep himself where he stood, knowing that any hasty action on his part could mean disastrous consequences for you and despite his talent with a gun and high accuracy when it came to hard to hit targets, he wasn't willing to take a chance on pulling the trigger with you in the line of fire, risking the possibility of...he didn't even want to think about it, that's a thing he could not,  _ would not _ , allow to happen. He'd had enough taken away from him, he'd be damned if you were too.

You saw the struggle in Billy's face, in the way he held himself poised and ready to strike, but with the way things were going, the way he was hesitating you weren’t so sure he would take it.

_ So create one. _ You thought and your mind raced, flooding with all the lessons Billy had embedded in you what felt like ages ago.

0o0o0o0o0

"Do you really believe I'll ever need all this defense training you're putting me through?" You asked Billy between heavy breaths as you laid sprawled out on the floor mat, your right arm thrown over your eyes. Your sports bra and shirt were soaked with sweat and clung uncomfortably to your body, there's nothing you wanted more than to strip down and soak in your tub, letting the hot water relax your sore muscles and wash away the grime from everything Billy was putting you through.

"I believe in being prepared." He said from somewhere above you. Moving your arm you saw him standing over you, a smirk curling the ends of his lips as he held a water bottle towards you, looking like he had when you arrived, not a single hair out of place and not even the slightest trace of sweat on his clothes.

It was completely unfair.

"Does being prepared allow for a 15 minute break?" You took the offered bottle, sitting up and twisting the cap and taking a long swing.

"Sure." He said nodding, his New Yorker accent pulling at the single word then lowered himself next to you.

There was a beat of silence as you tried to get your breathing back to normal, giving your tired muscles a break.

When Billy had said that he was gonna teach you some self defense, you thought he was gonna give you one of those pepper spray keychains, maybe show you how to throw an effective punch to disorient your (hypothetical) would be assailant, and run. Maybe install an app on your phone that would activate once opened and send out a distress call, or something that you would open once you left your work building and listened to everything around you and would alert local authorities once it caught a phrase or…something. You certainly weren't expecting him to put you through cardio training, much less him teaching you moves that would let you free yourself from holds and strikes to incapacitate.

You were breathing normally now, your arms and legs still felt like they were on the verge of falling off, when you turned to look at him and asked,

"The story Karen is working...did it really freak you out that much?"

Billy shrugged,

“New York is a dangerous city, all these...guys runnin’ around at night, helping people, they can't be everywhere at the same time. While they're over on 10th and 52nd, preventing some poor schmuck from gettin' mugged, some poor bastard over on 41st could be bleedin’ out, or some clun hoppers could be gettin’ shoved in a container at the docks. It's childish to believe that just because they're out there, that your on a first name basis with a couple of them, that one of them is your Friday trivia buddy, that you're safe. That they'll come rescue you."

You sat quietly, staring at him for a minute

"Frank said you're doing this so you won't have to worry about me when you're not around."

"Yeah, well Frankie has a big mouth." He said, but there was no real heat behind his words, making you let out a bark of laughter.

"I'm not gonna deny that it'll make me rest a little easier, ‘specially when we both have to stay out late," he paused for a minute, his hand clenching and unclenching as the quiet stretched between the two of you, "I jus’...just want you to be and feel safe...with or without me around."

You felt your heart clench in your chest and a smile tugged at the corners of your lips. Leaning over the small space between you and pressing your lips to the top of his cheek, then pushed yourself up and held out a hand for him to take. 

"Breaks over teach, I'm not paying for these classes for you to sit on your ass all day." You said playfully

He huffed out a laugh and took your hand, pulling himself up to his feet.

"You  _ aren't _ paying for these classes though."

"Yeah, but my boyfriend is, and I'm pretty sure he wouldn't approve of us just sittin' around."

You got back to it then, Billy telling you what he was going to do and how you should react. Going through the motions slow at first so that you could memorize them and they became instinct.

0o0o0o0o0

Billy saw the change in you, the way your eyes cleared, the determined set of your brows and lips. And he swore he felt his heart stop for the second time that day.

You closed your eyes and took a deep breath, prayed to god, to every saint you’d heard Matt mutter under his breath... to Tom Cruise, to the god damn universe, to anyone that was listening as you balled up your fist, putting every ounce of strength you had into it and swung it back, making it connect with Walter's crotch. He bent forward crying out in pain and in the same motion you brought up your elbow, adrenaline floods your system when you heard a sicken crunch when it made contact with the underside of his jaw. You ducked out of the way, tripping over your own feet and falling onto your hands and knees as a different crack filled the night air, silencing Walter's cries of pain and followed instantly by the muted thud of a body hitting the floor.

Before you could catch your breath, you felt strong hands grip your arm and pull you up, crashing you onto their chest, arms hugging you so tight you swore your ribs were on the brink of breaking. Relief washed over you, making your knees go weak and sag against his chest and you hugged him back just as tightly.

He pulled away from you after a minute, his hands coming to rest on your shoulders,

"You alrigh’? You're not hurt anywhere are you?"

He asked in quick succession as he his eyes scanned your face, hands running up your neck, moving your head to the side, no doubt to check your temple, where Walter had been pressing the barrel of his gun.

"I'm fine Billy,"

"You sure?" He asked again, his hands and eyes taking the rest of you in.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure." You said before he pulled you into another hug, this one gentler than the first, your arms wounding around his wait in the same motion. A sense of peace settled over you as he rocking you softly making you relax further in his arms.

"Whoa!!" Cried a too cheerful voice, breaking through the quiet that had enveloped you, making Billy pull away and step in front of you, pulling the gun out from the waistband of his dress pants and aiming it in the direction of where the voice had come from.

"I've heard of people getting into this place but you guys, you guys were on a completely different level!" The man continued, easing his horse closer and stopping a few feet away from where you were standing and were able to make out his features. He looked tall and wide, a big smile on his lips, crinkling the corner of his dark eyes, above of which sat 2 bushy brows that matched his dark hat sat on his head; the front of which was tipped back as to not obscure his face. He was dressed in dark pants and jacket, but unlike his late companions, he looked like he knew what a shower and washing machine were.

"Off the fuckin’ horse, unless you wanna join your buddies." Billy said, pulling the hammer of his gun and aimed the barrel at the man’s head. You saw his cheerful demeanor drop; hands held up in surrender.

"I-it's alright son, t-there's no need for the gun." he stuttered out as he dismounted, stumbling slightly when his feet touched the ground.

“Toss the gun.” Billy said with a slight nod of his head, “Belt too.”

The man unbuckled his belt and removed it from around his waist and tossed it away from him, landing a few feet away from him with a muted thud, a miniscule dirt cloud puffing around the discarded weapon.

"You and your friends, where were you comin’ from?"

"Sweetwater" the man said quickly, pointing past Billy in the direction that he, Rebus, and Walter had been riding from, "it's a little over an hours way on horseback. There's a stream not too far from here, it's a straight shot northeast from there."

"Take the reins." He murmured to you over his shoulder, never once taking his eyes or the aim of the gun off of the man in front of you.

"There any more like your friends there?" Billy asked, as you walked over and gathered the reins, guiding the horse away from the man.

The man's head tilted to the side, confusion clear on his face as he said, "There's all sorts at Sweetwater, it's where everybody gets off the train and starts."

Billy paused for a minute and glanced behind his shoulder to see you, catching your eye for a beat. He knows that he has to get you out of here, that he has to check your elbow, make sure it isn't broken.

"Take off your pants and boots"

"What?"

"Your pants and boots. Take them off."

He kicked off his boots and made quick work of the button and zipper of his pants, shoving them down his legs and stepping out of them, leaving the pile at his feet.

"Toss them this way."

He bent down and tosses the discarded clothes at Billy's feet.

"Much obliged" Billy says, giving the man a slight nod "turn around" Billy continues and the man does as he's told, turning around away from you, "on your knees." He lowers himself down onto his knees and you think you hear a sob.

Billy takes a few steps forward and gathers the pants and boots, handing them to you with a whispered, "change into these."

You take them wordlessly, handing him the reins and stripping off your damaged skirt as quickly as you can and slip into the pants, tightening the belt so they won't fall off your hips. Then slip your feet into the boots that feel a few sizes too big for your feet.

Billy chances a glance over his shoulder as you're gathering your discarded skirt in your arms, giving you the reins back once your upright, then walks over to stand in front of the man on his knees.

"You got a name?"

"C-craig. Craig J-johnson."

"Alright Craig Johnson, if me and my girl start walkin’ that way," he nods in the direction he had said Sweetwater was, "are you goin’ to follow us?"

The man shakes his head no so quickly you think he might make himself dizzy.

"Y'know, I wanna trust you Craig, I really do, you seem like...a decent enough guy, but your friends...they weren't good people Craig, which turns this into a bit of a percentages game…" Billy paused, looks past the man on his knees to you, his gaze tender but hard around the edges, "and...I care about her too much to take the risk."

He pulls the trigger before you can tell him to let the guy go, that he had done enough. The bullet hits Craig square in the chest, you cup a hand over your mouth to stifle a scream as he falls back with a pained wail. You expect some soft cries, a gurgle or something instead, the man screeches out,

"SONUVABITCH!" sitting up and rubbing his chest, "is it supposed to hurt this much?" The guy asks no one in particular, his voice high and cracking on every other word as he pulls his hand away, clean.

Confused, Billy aims the gun and let's out another shot, hitting him on the shoulder, his confusion growing when Craig holds and rubs at his shoulder and continues cursing. He looks over at the men he had dispatched only a few minutes before; the pool of blood around them steadily growing as the seconds ticked by.

He aims the gun for the third time at Craig's belly, and pulls the trigger, instead of the crack of the hammer hitting the primer there’s an empty click.

"Fuck" he mutters, shifting his grip on the gun and quickly striking the man across the face with the side of the cylinder, there's a loud crunch and Craig goes down, blood trickling from his nose and the corner of his mouth as he lays motionless on the dirt floor.

You looked between Billy and Craig's limp body, your throat clicking a few times as you swallow,

"Is...is he…did--?" your voice came out thin and cracked, unable to ask the question.

"He's not dead, just unconscious." Billy says, crouching down onto the balls of his feet, his arms hanging off his knees and between his legs, his head tilting this way and that, eyes squinting as he looked over the bullet holes. He reached out his hand, the tip of his finger poking through the damaged fabric, his head cocking to the side and eyes widening in shocked confusion. His hands dart to the middle of the shirt and pull at the edges, buttons pop and fly about and Billy mutters a confused "what the fuck".

Instead of bleeding bullet wounds, he sees small circular bruises, similar to the ones he's often come home with after a grueling training exercise with his guys at Anvil.

He looks over at the men that lay a few feet away, motionless and blood still slowly seeping at the lose dirt under them, then back at Craig. Something unrecognizable flashes through his eyes,

"We gotta get outta here." He says going through the pockets of Craig’s jacket, pulling out what looked to be a few pieces of paper, then pushed himself up and made his way over to where Walter lay, crouching beside him, his hands quickly working the buckle of his gun belt and pulling it off of him and throwing it over his shoulder and picking up the gun that he had been holding, tucking it into the waistband of his pants. Then walked over to where Rebus lay and did the same.

When he was done, he walked over to the two horses that had miraculously not gotten startled with all the commotion, one a rich chocolate brown with a dark mane, the other a golden brown with a black mane and dark legs. He took the saddle bags from the golden brown horse, loaded the things he had gathered from Craig, Walter, and Rebus into it; took the canteen that was tied to one of the many straps that hung off the saddle, and tugged the rolled up blanket that sat at the end of the saddle free and attached everything to the darker one. When his hands were free, he gathered the reins, turned to the golden horse and gave it a hard smack on its’ rear, it let out a loud high-pitched squeal that pierced the night air before it galloped away.

Billy walked over to where you stood, the horse trailing behind him letting out soft blows of air that puffed around it’s muzzle every few steps.

“C’mon, get on the horse, we have a long and bumpy ride ahead of us.”

“Bill, we can’t just leave him here, he’ll die of exposure or something!”

“He didn’t seem to mind lettin’ you to those!!--” he cut himself off, closing his eyes and raising his face towards the sky as if asking a higher power for the patience to get through the moment, “Let’s just...get outta here, alright?”

You just nod and on your heel, grabbing the ends of the saddle like you had seen countless times in shows and movies and try to pull yourself up, but you don't get anywhere near high enough to swing your leg over.

"Here," Billy says, stepping up behind you, his hands resting on your hips, "you gotta put your foot through here," he grabs your right leg behind the knee, lifting it up and maneuvering your foot to go through the stirrup, "now, grab on tight to the horn,"

You wrapped your hand tight on the horn of the saddle and waited for him to tell you your next step.

"When I count to three, you're gonna push yourself up on your right foot, when you reach the top, swing your left leg over and come down slow. You ready?" At your nod, he counted to three, his hands still on your hips helped you lift yourself and hold yourself up long enough for you to swing your left leg over and settle down slowly like he had said. 

He gave your leg a quick squeeze and smiled at you, then give you a crash course on horseback riding. Once he was satisfied that you had the basic cues down, he turned and mounted the other horse in one fluid movement, making the action look far more graceful than it had any right to be.

He adjusted his hold on the reins and cued the horse to move forward.

You fided with the reins a bit, Billy getting a few feet ahead of you, then as quickly as you could, you undid the straps that held the canteen and the rolled up blanket, tossing both as close as possible to Craig's unconscious body, hoping that he'd wake soon, then nudged your horse forward to where Billy had stopped to wait for you.

When you ambled up to him his eyes were hard and his jaw was set. He had no doubt seen what you did and wasn't too happy about it.

The ride was long, made even longer by the heavy silence that had settled between you and Billy. You had tried to talk to him, but by the third time he had brushed you off you resigned yourself, he was pissed. It felt like hours had passed when you reached the tree you had seen, Billy dismounted his horse with the same ease and grace he had climbed onto it, guiding the animal to the tree and wrapping the reins onto a low hanging branch.

You try to imitate Billy, standing and swinging your right leg back, you lost your balance before your leg could clear the top of the horse, foot still stuck in the stirrup, you let out a yelp and prepared yourself for impact but it never came, at least not the one you were expecting. Your back hits something warm and solid, familiar arms wrapping around your body, hands gripping you and holding you up and against his chest. 

Billy shifts your weight, freeing one hand, long arm reaching for the stirrup and freeing your foot, then slowly and gently depositing you on the ground, making sure that your left foot is free of the other stirrup before letting you go. 

“Thanks…” your voice comes out so low you doubt Billy even hears you.

He takes the reins of the horse and walks it over near the tree and wraps the reins onto the same branch as he did his horse, pulling off the bags that rested behind the saddles and throwing them over his shoulder. Settling over on a patch of dirt that was illuminated by the moon. He reached into the bags and started taking things out, bringing it close to his face to inspect then setting it on the floor in front of him, separating everything he took out, guns laid out carefully in a neat row, small rectangular boxes stacked on top of eachother next to them. He pulled out a couple more cardboard boxes that he shook, a muted rattling coming from inside, and put them in a separate pile, followed by several knives, unsheathing each and inspecting the blade in the little light of the moon, holding it up and flicking the thumb of his left hand against the edge, testing the sharpness.

“Bill?” you said as he pulled another knife from its sheath, this one larger and wider and repeating what he had done with the first. “Billy, please...stop ignoring me.”

“What?” the word had an edge to it accentuated by the harsh movements of his hands, making you think that maybe you should give him some room, some more time to cool down, but that meant letting him stew in whatever was running through his head. 

You chewed on the corner of your lower lip as you thought about telling him “nevermind” and walking away, instead you steeled yourself and took a deep breath. 

“I’m sorry...I-I couldn’t just walk away…and leave him like that, you know I couldn’t.”

That made him pause, shoulders sagging as he let out a long breath, shaking his head from side to side.

“That good heart of yours is gonna be the death of us some day." he muttered, his voice losing the hostile edge it had had, resignation laced in his words as he shoved the knife back into its sheath and laying it next to him.

"Billy, it was just a blanket--"

"It's not just a blanket!" He shouted, shooting up to his feet, eyes a little manic as he paced back and forth in a tight circle in front of you. "It's a way for him to survive and come after us! More of his  _ buddies  _ with him, you can't think with that bleedin' heart of yours out here, it's a sure way to get yourself killed!”

You look away, feeling properly scolded. You didn't argue, you couldn't, you knew he was right, knew he was falling back onto eight years of military service, where everything was a mission, and the mission at hand was survive and find a way back home. 

He let out a long sigh followed by a quiet fuck as he ran a hand through his hair, gripping the ends of the longer strands at his crown for a beat before letting his hand drop to his side. Billy came to stand in front of you, placing 2 fingers under your chin and lifting your head so that you were looking at him.

"I'm sorry...didn't mean to…” he let out a frustrated sigh, the words  _ yell, loose my temper _ , hung in the air unsaid but rang loud and clear nonetheless. “you gotta understand, it all comes down to us or them...and I’m gonna do everythin’ I can to have us come out on top everytime.”

You swallowed the knot that formed in your throat and nodded, "I know Billy, I'm sorry."

He pulled you tight against his chest, kissing the top of your head and saying a “it’s ok, we’re gonna be ok,” against your hairline. You stood wrapped in each others arms until your body began to be wracked by slight tremors as the temperature dropped what felt like a few degrees. 

“C’mon, let’s get you warmed up.”

He placed another quick kiss to your forehead before pulling away and going over to where the saddle bags were, picking up one of the few cardboard boxes and the larger knife he had set apart, gathering everything else and putting them back into the bag for the exception of a pair of guns, tucking them into the waistband of his pants and one of the cardboard boxes, opening it and emptying whatever was inside it into his hand and then shoving that into one of his pokets. 

He made quick work of getting a fire put together, and settling both of you against the tree on the opposite side of where the horses were tied, one of the blankets he had gathered on the floor and the other thrown over both of your bodies. 

You were leaning against the truck of the tree while Billy checked and rechecked the guns, long nimble fingers twisting the firearm this way and that pulling the hammer and releasing it back to rest, spinning the cylinder, pushing it back into the frame, aiming it into the distance and pulling the trigger, the click of the hammer hitting an empty chamber was almost drowned out by the crackling of the fire that was doing wonders in keeping you warm. 

He did the same thing with the other gun, once satisfied, he reached his hand into the pocket of his pants and pulled out a handful of bullets and began loading the gun. 

"Where'd you learn to ride a horse anyway?" You asked as he slid another bullet into an empty chamber.

"County fair, when I was 7, was gonna sneak outta the orphanage, steal a horse and ride out west, just like The Kid."

"Bullshit" you said, disbelief clear as day in your voice, as he pushed the cylinder back into the frame of the gun once it was fully loaded and picked up the second, opening it and loading bullet after bullet into the chambers. 

"God honest truth,” he said, smile clear in his voice as he slid the final bullet in closed it and laid it next to the first and leaning back against the tree, his left arm going around you and bringing you close. “Saved every penny I came across, had a backpack with all my stuff hidden outside the orphanage, kept my gun with me at all times though, it was one of those plastic guns you could get at the corner liquor store, the one with the bulky orange tip, silver with some swirly pattern embossed all over the barrel and frame and a wooden grip cost me like 17 bucks and I remember thinkin' it was worth every penny. Took that thing everywhere, slept with thunder my pillow. I watched every cowboy movie I could find, made a dummy horse outta some pillows and a broken chair, tore up a sheet to make the reins and everythin'. 

"On the first night the fair rolled into the city, I snuck out, took the train and a few busses, got there, paid for my ticket and everythin'. Walked around for a while, ate so much junk food I swore I was gonna be sick. Walked to the pettin' zoo part of the fair and headed over to the horses. There was this beautiful stallion, black with a white streak down the middle of his face, that's the horse I was gonna take, knew it as soon as I saw 'em, he was gonna be the one that was gonna take me across the states. 

"When they announced that the place was closin' for the night, I snuck under one of those trailer cars, hid behind the front wheels and waited until all the lights were off, then waited some more; think I even dozed off for a few. When I thought everyone was asleep, I came out, made my way over to where the horses had been, was expectin' to find stables or somethin' in the tent, but there was only some tables and boxes. Wandered around for what felt like hours 'till I found the trailer they were in; I managed to get the door open but made too much noise and woke everybody up and I knew I had to get the hell outta dodge. Almost got caught when I jumped the fence, made it back to the orphanage with a few cuts and bruises. 

"A couple of nights later, I went back and waited, didn't even get close to the trailers, one of the guys caught me by the scruff when I was crawlin’ out from under the trailer. Handed me over to the cops, then over to the orphanage…"

He paused for a moment

"They...they made sure I didn't...didn’t  _ entertain  _ the idea of tryin’ again.”

You hugged yourself closer to him, your arms squeezing around his middle making his arms around your shoulders hug you closer. 

“I’m sorry that happened to you Billy.”

“It was a long time ago...an...and life has more than made up for the shitty childhood I had.” he murmured against your temple before pressing his lips to it. 

“Yeah,” you murmured with a smile, “Being CEO of your own  _ very  _ successful private security company sounds like the best outcome to everything you went through.”

You felt the rumble of his laugh in his chest. 

“That part is pretty great…but” his hand came up under your chin, lifting your head so that you looked at him, “I meant you...meetin’ you, everythin’ you’ve brought into my life…” his tongue pokes out, wetting his lips and your hold around him tightens, “I’d do it again to have this. To have you.” 

You smile, pushing yourself the few inches needed to press your lips against his. His hand moved to frame your face and what was supposed to be a quick peck soon turns hungry and needy. You felt and heard the deep inhale he took, his chest rising and expanding under your hand as his lips move expertly against yours, hand moving into your hair to cradle the back of your head, adjusting it slightly to have a better angle. His tongue swipes at the seam of your lips and without a second thought you part them, your own coming out to tangle and move against his, your leg climbing over his making a low moan rumble in his chest, his free hand goes to the back of your knee, holding it tight against his side as he flips the both of you over, hooking it over his waist and running it up your thigh, fingers digging into the soft skin, his hips giving an aborted thrust before he pulls away, breaths heavy as he rests his forehead against yours. 

“Billy?”

“We can’t — _ s _ _ houldn’t _ …” he says, eyes closed and brushing his nose against yours, “gotta...gotta stay alert,” he continues, pressing his lips to yours again, kissing you slowly, nipping your bottom lip before he pulls away from you again. 

“C’mon, you gotta get some rest.” he presses a kiss to the tip of your nose and pushes himself off of you

You both resettle against the tree, the blanket covering pulled up as far as it could go without leaving your feet uncovered, his arm thrown over your shoulder, hugging you to the side of his body. 

You don’t know if its the warmth or the too long and strange day you’ve had, but your eyes start to droop, your breathing evening out, eyes closing and just before unconscious pulls you under you hear Billy whisper a soft “sweet dreams sweetheart” and feel the press of his lips to your temple, sending you off into a peaceful sleep. 

You came to in increments, noticing first the scratchy material of the blanket against your cheek and the uncomfortable heat, followed by the lack of a strong arm holding you tight against an equally strong chest. The sound of the horses filters in next, the muted clopping of their hooves on the packed dirt, and their low grunts, blows, and snorts.

You crack open your eyes and close them almost immediately, the light too bright and harsh for your eyes. You push yourself onto your back and try again, blinking rapidly to help your vision adjust. Pale blue sky filtered through the branches and leaves above, it could have been midmorning or midday, you pushed yourself up, the blanket falling onto your lap as you stretch out your arms and back, relaxing after a beat and feeling more awake. You threw the rest of the blanket off of you and next to your thigh was one of the guns Billy had kept out. In the light of day you noticed that the model was old, the metal was dark and polished as if new or its previous owner went to the extreme to keep it in pristine condition, the barrel was short and the grip a matte black. The second gun you had seen Billy load was nowhere in sight and you knew that he had left it for you to use if necessary.

You hesitated in reaching for it but then Billy”s words played themselves in your mind, the edge his voice had had was one you hadn’t heard in a long time, ever since...you shuddered despite the heat, willing yourself to not let the memory take form, to not feel the phantom weight of a hand closing in on your throat.

The sound of something cracking came from behind you and in a flash, you had the gun in your hand and were aiming it at Billy. His hands were held up

“Whoa there killa, it’s just me.” he said, a lazy smile curving his lips. 

You let out a breath and lowered the gun, cocking your head to the side as you looked him up and down, “Where’d you go so early?”

“Did some scouting at dawn, found a stream where we can fill the canteens and wash up.”

“Oh thank god.” you sighed, relieved at the thought of being able to wash off the sweat and grime that you could feel clinging to your skin.

“C’mon, lets pack up, we can head over to the stream wash up and then head out.”

Billy held out his hand to you and you took it with your free hand, pulling yourself to your feet, and tucking the gun away into the waistband of your pants. Billy picked up the saddles that you had used as pillows and walking over to the horses, throwing them over their rumos and securing them while you bent down and picked up one of the blankets and folded and rolled it, tying it with the leather straps and tossing it over to Billy for him to put on the horse. You reached for the second blanket and when you pulled it up you froze. There, coiled onto itself where the blanket had been pushed up against the upturned roots of the tree, blending almost completely to its surroundings, was a snake, you only knew it was there thanks to the harsh rattling of its tail.

You took a step back and the snake raised itself up, the rattling only intensifying, you debated on moving further away, you weren’t sure if you were within its striking range but you really didn’t want to risk moving and it lunging at you sinking its fangs into your leg. 

There was a thwip that cut through the air and in the blink of an eye the snake was pinned down to the ground, the large knife, looking even larger in the light, Billy had kept was buried halfway into its neck, keeping it in place as the rest of its long body trashed against it, then slowly stilled. 

Billy walked over to you, taking your face in his hands and lowered his gaze until it meet yours. 

“You okay?” he asked, his dark eyes searching yours

“Yeah,” your voice cracked, clearing your throat you tried again. “Yeah...didn’t…” your voice wavered again and he pulled you to him, hugging you tight, saying, reassuring you that you were ok, his hands going up and down your back in comforting strokes.

“I thought...i thought it was gonna strike if I moved.” you said into his chest, your words shaky

"It wouldn't've...not unless provoked" he reassured you, his large hand gripping your shoulders.

"Billy it...it reared back...it was gonna…" your words trailed off, you didn't know much about wildlife, but you knew that rattlesnakes were trouble, trouble you didn't need while stuck in the middle of nowhere .

Billy was quiet for a long time and you could practically hear the wheels turning in his mind, after a moment he pulled away and looked into your eyes again, 

“We should get going,” you nodded and he pressed his lips to your forehead before he walked over to retrieve the knife, picking up the blanket that you had let fall when you had seen the snake, and cleaning the blade with one of the corners, and shoving it back into the sheath that hung on his belt, then folded and rolled the blanket.

He helped you mount the horse and guided you to the stream he had said, he dismounted first and came over to help you, telling you what you should do, this time when you threw your leg over you didn't have any problems, but Billy still reached out and held your waist as you came off the back of the horse. 

After billy cut off a couple of squares from one of the blankets so that you could scrub your bodies, you stripped out of your clothes, laying them neatly on a nearby rock, Billy taking extra care of setting his shoulder holster, matte black gun tucked away into it, on top of his clothes along with the spring loaded blade mechanism that he had strapped to his wrist more often than not, the revolver and knife next to them. You both made quick work of getting clean, trying to wash away the sweat and dirt clinging to your bodies. You’re scrubbing at a particularly tough stain on the crook of your elbow, leaving the skin red and tender thinking you’d give almost anything to have your favorite body wash and shampoo with you. After you both got as clean as you were gonna get you got dressed; while Billy filled the canteens you led the horses to the edge of the stream and held their reins while they drank, patting and stroking their necks and mane. 

You're ready to go when you notice Billy, crouched down a little ways away from the edge of the stream, his knife buried in the ground, a smooth rust colored rock on to one side as he tossed and caught a darker rock in his hand, every now and again making a tally mark on the ground.

"What're you doing Billy?"

"Our friend Craig said Sweetwater was a straight shot northeast of here."

"Yeah, he did, how does that explain what you're doing?"

He waves you over and quickly explains his set up, how tracking the shadow of the knife on the ground would make a makeshift compass, how the rock on the floor is a marker for East and after a few more minutes, the rock in his hand would be a marker for West, once that was done, he'd find the midpoint and mark North and South and know in what direction to go. 

As you waited for the shadow of the knife to move, Billy recounted a story in which he had had to use this same method once before due to his compass being broken and having lost his watch. Midway through his story Billy sets down the rock he had been tossing, and makes the appropriate marks he had explained and makes one additional mark between the marker for North and East. He pulls the knife from the ground, sheathed it, helped you onto the horse, then mounted his own, pulling the reins and guiding the horse in the direction he had marked on the ground. 

You rode in the hot sun for what felt like hours, taking small drinks from the canteens to keep yourselves hydrated and nibbled on small pieces of hot jerky Billy had found in the bags. 

"Well...I'll be damned," you heard Billy say next to you, his eyes squinting into the distance. "sonuvabitch was telling the truth."

You followed his line of sight, bringing your hand out and holding it against your forehead to shield your eyes from the too bright sun. You squinted into the distance, and there barely visible with the heat coming off the ground and distorting it, were familiar shapes, one of which looked like a reservoir, 

“Is...is that-?"

"Yeah...Sweetwater."

Relief floods your body makes you sag, Sweetwater, it's still a good ways away, but you'd made it. After wandering and wondering if you'd make it out of the barren plains, you'd made it.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> Come talk to me about Billy Russo on [tumblr](http://www.gollyderek.tumblr.com)


End file.
